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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First of all, totally didn’t realize this was a companion to Goon Squad (which I have not read) so perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if I read that first. Regardless, I found this novel to be quite disorienting; it was difficult to keep track of the 30+ characters through a multitude of perspectives, writing styles, time jumps, etc. I typically love stories where people’s lives are interwoven but I missed a lot of “a-ha!” moments because I literally couldn’t remember who was who. Also, the concepts explored in this book are usually my jam, so I was confused to find myself bored during most of the stories? Again… maybe I would feel differently if I read Goon Squad first…. but this was not good imo :(
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A companion book to “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” focusing on memory, privacy, authenticity, and connection in an era of overwhelming social media.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Everything I loved about “A Visit From The Goon Squad” carried over into this book. I will always be amazed by authors who in so few paragraphs and with such intentional use of details can illustrate the imperfect lives of their characters, their quirks and hopes and regrets. In addition, I enjoyed the creative and ambitious direction Jennifer Egan took with this quasi-sequel. More experimentation with voice, style, and genre. The sci-fi elements of Mandala cubes and collective memory sharing were an excellent mode to expand on the themes of the first book, exploring identity formation and authenticity, privacy versus empathy.
“Lulu The Spy” was my favorite storyline for its creativity and clever storytelling.
“Lulu The Spy” was my favorite storyline for its creativity and clever storytelling.
3.5 / 5
I loved the writing style and the storytelling. I always love intersecting storylines and following characters through different life stages but, my god, a lot of meaning was lost on me because I couldn’t figure out who they were talking about!!!!!! Too many characters (literally 20+) to juggle in my mind.
I loved the writing style and the storytelling. I always love intersecting storylines and following characters through different life stages but, my god, a lot of meaning was lost on me because I couldn’t figure out who they were talking about!!!!!! Too many characters (literally 20+) to juggle in my mind.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“If the service is free, the product is you” is the central thesis of this book. Set in a world where everyone’s full consciousness is uploaded into the internet, you navigate through Egan’s story like you yourself are exploring the common consciousness- discovering links between people, seeing the world through their eyes. Egan is especially good at creating distinct voices and strong characters in just a few pages, something which is especially impressive considering how many characters there are. Fantastic- I think this book is what “the overstory” tried to be and failed. I need to reread the goon squad!
That was incredible! The chapters each had different voices, characters, POVs including my favorite chapter which was written in 2nd person (Lulu the Spy), entirely different writing styles. However, they all connected to tell a bigger arc about society in a slightly alternate present and near future. One thing she talked about in various ways was originality in story telling— a plot line about “counters” trying to assign a code to every single story trope in the world for a media company, and I started after that to pay attention to how she played with that by writing familiar scenes, and sometimes writing moments that I could really believe had never been told before.
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this before, realizing it was a sequel so now I have to read Goon
squad- hoping it will illuminate the things that confused me about this book. Enjoyed parts of it very much.
squad- hoping it will illuminate the things that confused me about this book. Enjoyed parts of it very much.